War is Changing
by RunningWithWulves
Summary: "Courier, War is Changing, it comes with the Eastern Sea, it pounds the shore with thunder and fire, He brings Change, He brings Death, He Draws Near."
1. Prologue - The Warning

**War Is Changing**

A hot wind hit Liza O'Malley's face, pulling her eyes away from the terminal before her and towards the door which had been thrust open swiftly and quietly. It was closed just as quickly but not before an indistinct figure had slipped inside. Liza had her hand on the silent alarm the moment the door shut, however as soon as the figure shifted from the strange grey shape it had been, into a man, she lifted her hand. "Oh, it's you." She said reassuringly, more to herself than for anyone else. The man gave her a small smile and a nod asking "The Ambassador?"

"He's free, go right through. I'll give him a buzz to know you're coming." He gave another nod and began to move down a corridor. As he passed, the tail of his heavy trench coat following a moment later, Liza shivered and let go of a breath she didn't realise she had kept. _He always seems to move too fluidly, too quietly_ she thought. As he disappeared down the hallway, she shook her head and returned her focus to the terminal in front of her, he was the ambassador's problem now.

By the time he had arrived at the office, Crocker had gotten up from behind his desk to greet him. However as the ambassador held his hand out, the Man motioned it away saying, "Ambassador, you better sit down, you will want to be comfortable when you hear the news I have." He pulled out a small satchel from under his coat as the Ambassador poured two glasses of whiskey from a bottle on a sideboard. Crocker chuckled to himself, whispering "Damn, this is the best New Reno label money can buy, and you won't even notice." He turned back around as the man was pulling a small tape out the satchel, a few moments later he sat down, took a small sip of his drink and nodded for his guest to begin.

"I was on my way up from Ranger Station Delta when I decided to stop by the trading post out on the I88." He paused before tilting his head quizzically and asking, "How much do you know about the Forecaster?" Crocker's brow creased as he wondered where this was all going. "Nothing official, just a bit here and there overheard while having lunch with the staff. Supposedly he's psychic, and he wears some sort of helmet to protect himself from his power." The man nodded to himself and continued. "He is, Ambassador, believe me or not, he is not some two penny prophet. He is young, but the words he has spoken to me when he removes his 'Medicine' have been true every time. One thing you must know is that while he speaks of the future it is rarely clear. When he removes that 'Metal helmet' of his, he speaks only in metaphor; it has been this way in all of the previous three times I have visited."

He sat down in the chair opposite Crocker, ran his hands through his hair and went on. "This time it was different. Always in the past I have gone beneath the bridge at I88 to meet with him, but this time he came to me. At first I didn't recognise him, he was just a kid standing there in the midst of a crowd of traders, settlers and soldiers all moving about in every direction. But then he called to me, as clear as the desert sky I heard him call. Courier, he said. That's all he said, then he turned around and began to walk back beneath the bridge. When I arrived at his tiny hall of stolen thoughts he motioned for me to sit down, he slowly removed his Medicine and began to Forecast." The Courier then inserted the tape in his hands into the pipboy attached to his left arm, after a moment the recording began.

"_Courier, War is Changing, it comes with the Eastern Sea, it pounds the shore with thunder and fire, He brings Change, He brings Death, He Draws Near. The Old Bull shall be unshackled. The Bastion of the East shall see the doom. Courier, the sun draws too dark for this one to see the sky and judge the weather. Courier… I am afraid. And you, who fought beneath the flag of the old world, will feel it as well."_

The Courier opened his eyes and locked them with Crocker's. "Whether you believe in what he does or not, something tells me we should not take this lightly. Something is coming, and by his insistent tone, I believe it is coming soon." He said, before running his hands through his matted hair once more. The ambassador looked down at his drink, then brought his eyes back up before replying, "Look Mr Greyson, it is Greyson right?" The courier nodded, the ambassador continued. "Look, I understand that you have done a lot for the NCR, in fact I might not be sitting here if it were not for your assistance in the fight against the Legion. However, even if it was in my authority, I don't think we should be so hasty as to mobilise the military on the grounds of some poor kid and his hallucinations."

Crocker took a swift gulp from his glass as the Courier stood placed both his hands on the desk and leaned forward, "Look Dennis, it is Dennis right? I am not asking for a battalion, I'm only asking for a unit or two, maybe a couple of rangers just to make sure, because in a year's time if everything turns out to be all right, we can have a laugh and a whiskey over it." His eyes took on a cold glint and he spoke slightly softer "But if there is even the slightest chance something might be coming for us, don't you we think we should prepare for it? Well, don't you?"


	2. Chapter 1 - Bastion of the East

Chapter 1 Bastion of the East

Nathan Cordroy sighed in exasperation, stretching his neck and rolling his arms. They were in the fourth hour of the second day of negotiations and Tenpenny's Merchant puppets were not making this any easier. They were bloodsuckers through and through, grasping on to any opportunity for profit that they could find during these torturous ordeals. In fact Nathan knew some **actual** bloodsuckers who had a greater sense of honesty and fairness than the three well dressed, smug looking men that sat across the table from him. It pained him to deal with the likes of Tenpenny, but what he had, the Union needed.

It started a year before, when Tenpenny sent a unit of his personal guard to capture and clear the RobCo facility that lay nearby. Apparently, according to an anonymous Union source, he had hired a former member of the now disbanded Brotherhood Outcast, in order to repair the facility. The engineer had managed to get the centuries old factory machinery up and running and now little old Tenpenny had begun to form a monopoly on machined equipment, something that hadn't been seen in the East since before the bombs. So here Nathan sat rubbing his eyes as he forced himself to dive back into the increasingly banal dialogue. He reminded himself that if they didn't work out some sort of deal, Tenpenny would quickly become the most powerful man in D.C, and that was definitely not going to happen on his watch.

"How about 10 crates of energy cells a month plus five suits of power armour" said a dark eyed and sickly smiling man wearing a neatly pressed suit. Vauhn Ghirst was his name, he replaced the sinister Mr Burke after his death as Tenpenny's right hand, and for the last two days he had relished in the fact that he held all the power in these negotiations. The thing that bugged Nathan the most was the promise he made to himself years before. When he found out that it was Tenpenny who wanted to detonate the dormant bomb that gave Megaton its name, he vowed never to deal with the likes of the shrivelled old businessman. But all those years ago he wasn't responsible for the lives' and wellbeing of thousands of DC's inhabitants, the only things he had to worry about then was feeding himself, his dog and the search for his father. Oh how he wished for those times.

"You know we don't trade power armour, Vauhn. Doing so would be stupid and would jeopardise any sort of advantage we have in situations like this, you know that, I know that. So stop insulting us and make a deal that would be beneficial for everyone, it's the only this will work." Nathan said this not in desperation, because such tones and attitudes would cause Vauhn and his lackeys to swoop in for the kill, but with a determination, because if he believed there could be a positive outcome to these talks, maybe the money minded businessmen might believe it too.

Mr Ghirst gave a small chuckle at Nathan's response and with a thin smile still on his lips said, "Just for clarification's sake, what would you do if I decided to work out right now, how would your precious _principals_ cause you to act? Would you be outraged? Would you let me leave, holing up behind your city walls and philanthropic posturing? Or would you lash out, abandoning the rules and codes you have set for yourself?"

Leaning forward, his grin widened as he half whispered, "Would you become like us, stooping to our lowly state?" Nathan pounded his fist on the table at this, gathering the anger and rage at the whole situation that had reached a boiling point when Ghirst had laced the word principals with enough venom to kill ten men. "That's enough! You know I have thousands of civilians to think about, compared to your few hundred wealthy businessmen and those former raiders you call mercenaries. We still outnumber you twenty to one, not to mention outgun you. If you force my hand I will order an attack and it will not go well for your burgeoning Merchant Empire."

The last few words had almost been a low growl and Nathan took a moment to compose himself before continuing, "I'm sure it doesn't take a genius to see that an up and coming Business Empire might have a great future with a growing nation, but only if you smooth things over now. Make it easy for us, sign a deal which will benefit the people, and I assure you, you will reap the rewards."

Nathan had barely finished when a side door burst open revealing a heavily breathing Union Knight, rushing forward to stand before the negotiations table. He caught his breath, saluted looked at the civilians standing around the table, obviously unsure as to their level of security clearance. Nathan gave him a short nod and the trooper began, "Sentinel Cordroy, Knight Farrow reporting. Paladin Athree, Commander of the Rivet City guard has requested your presence ASAP. We spotted something sir and I in Paladin Athree, we need to do something about it or it's gonna bite us on the ass, sir, respectfully sir!"

Sentinel Nathaniel Cordroy of the Capitol Union took a deep breath noting that the messenger before him wasn't just any ground-pounder; he was a knight, an officer. Athree believed this issue warranted sending one of his officers to deliver the call, to say nothing of the fact that the man had just sprinted the 5 mile journey from Rivet City to the newly refurbished Conference rooms of the Citadel. "Knight Farrow, proceed immediately to the Bailey and inform Sentinel Lyons to meet me in Vehicle Storage, you need your rest but it will have to be in your own bunk at Rivet City, you're coming back with us."

Five minutes later the leaders of the Union's military had gathered in the Vehicle Storage facility that opened up onto the surface outside the Citadel's outer ring. One of the trucks that Scribe Rothchild had managed to get working was powered up, and a small honour guard of Paladins accompanied the Sentinels on their trip. It had taken eight months of solid work by a dedicated force of Union engineers to clear, repair and in some cases rebuild the roads between the Union's administrative capital and its largest city, but the effort had payed off a when the small fleet of trucks at the Union's disposal were able to travel freely, carrying supplies, information and troops for the battles to drive out D.C's aggressive mutant population. That same road now carried the small contingent swiftly to their destination.

The Sentinels ascended the Rivet City Ramparts at a quick trot and were greeted with a smart salute by Paladin Harkness Athree before he motioned them to join him at the metal railing which bordered the tower they stood upon. "See that?" he said pointing out over the bay that stretched before them, "It's been sitting there for two hours now." They did see it. It was a boat about a quarter the size of the full length of Rivet City, however what set it apart from every other boat they had seen in afloat was that it was like the one they stood upon. It was constructed from steel and wrought iron. That much was evident even at the distance it stood out on the bay. All other details however, were indistinguishable, for there was great mist which the boat stood just beyond the edge of.

"At first we thought it might be a trader from the North or the South, or even an explorer." Harkness continued, "But what Trader or explorer do you know of that wouldn't jump at a moment's notice to make a landing when they see a place like this, even if it was abandoned." Nathan nodded, "Hence why you called for us, get one of your men to radio for some reinforcements, I don't like the fact that, that boat out there looks like it might be built for war."

It was as Paladin Athree was turning to a trooper to relay the order when they heard it. A great Horn, blasting throughout the bay, and slowly from beyond the mist over a dozen massive vessels began to approach.


	3. Chapter 2 - Herald of Thunder

Chapter 2 Herald of Thunder

Natalya Ravenborn adjusted her footing as the deck beneath her rolled slightly in the calm waters of the placid bay, squinting to try glean more details of the massive wreck of a ship that stood a few hundred metres away on the shore. Half of the dilapidated ship lay on dry land with only a small section jutting out into the bay. The bow was a broken wreck, tilted at an odd angle in the shallow water near the shore. What intrigued her and those she was with, were the obvious signs of habitation. Not only was there a long metal bridge between the ship and a dock like structure but there was also a small town of shacks and huts in the shadow of the beast. Finally people could be seen moving hurriedly around on the ramparts atop the ship. She didn't expect anything less. Of course the inhabitants would react with alarm given the situation. She didn't blame them, but in the end no amount of caution or preparation could prepare them for lay ahead.

"It's beautiful, is it not?" She turned, annoyed to discover Tomasz Herald standing beside her. "And why do say that?" She asked. "It's beautiful because it will soon be His, no matter how much they struggle to keep what they have, no matter how many sacrifices all those shapes on that ship over there make, it will **all** be his. It is only a matter of time." By the time he had finished he had drawn a wild grin upon his face and Natalya quickly turned her attention back to the shore, avoiding the mad glint she had glimpsed in his eyes many a time. She had never liked Tomasz; he always seemed a little… unstable. "Tomasz I believe we should make ready, we must be upon the shore soon." She turned to a passing sailor, "Signal the Escort to hold position but stay alert, we do not know anything of these Untested as of yet." The sailor rushed off to find the nearest signal flags.

Natalya then quickly descended below decks to gather what she needed from her cabin, strapping on her pistol and short sword before pulling her cloak onto her back. She made a quick prayer to The-One- In-Shadows and made her way above decks once more. She noticed that the Forerunners had begun to make their way onto the smaller craft that had been lowered into the water and she rushed to join them. Finding a seat on the cramped craft she turned to the person next to her only to find it was Tomasz. "Do feel it Little Natty, do you feel the power in the air? We are about to do something that hasn't been done since before the Great Cleansing Fire." He said, "What an honour it is to be a part of it!" Natalya did not reply, on account of her fuming over his use of that ridiculous nickname he had for her. However he did have a point, she did feel the strange quality in the air around them but it didn't fill her with nervous excitement as it did other members of the Forerunners, it just sent cold shivers down her spine

Her thoughts on the matter were interrupted as the engine on the shuttle boat they sat in roared to life and the planks beneath her feet shuddered as the landing craft began to carry them towards the shore. The noise, vibrations and that strange feeling were combining to make Natalya very nauseous indeed. _If only Anker were here, that silent thing he does always has a way of making me feel better_, she thought, but for reasons beyond her knowledge and understanding, he had been ordered to stay with the Escort Fleet. For the rest of the short jump to shore, she sat there wishing that the boat's walls were a little shorter, but this craft had been built for combat landings and so the walls were high and visibility low. As they got closer however she could see the large boat wreck looming over them and turning her head she noticed a large building built in a design she had never seen before. It was clearly built before the Great War as she doubted that anyone living in the world right then could dream of constructing such a marvel of marble and stone. Once again sounds emanating from the boat drew her out of her reverie. The boat was nearing the shore and the engine began to slow down.

The large metal covering at the front swung down onto the shore to reveal a silty beach and a small contingent of locals a few dozen metres ahead of them. Her eyes widened as she noticed Many of the figures were dressed in an armour she had never seen before. They loomed above the unarmoured among them and many carried weapons that looked as foreboding as the people themselves. She pulled her cloak tighter around her as the Forerunners began to file out of the craft, with Tomasz taking a lead among them. The group of locals didn't move any closer or make any movements at all while the landing party made their way to a position about ten metres or so from them. When they arrived, two of the locals dressed in the imposing armour with squat helmets sitting on their heads moved forward, but appeared to be content to allow the Forerunners the first words.

Tomasz cleared his throat then in a clear and loud voice began, "People of the wastes of America. I am the Herald of the Shaping, and I bring glad news that the salvation you have been waiting for, for centuries, has finally arrived." One of those wearing the armour quickly glanced at their companion to the side, what signal this was Natalya could not tell. Tomasz continued, "I beg of you, Tremble! For the Shaper draws ever closer, and whether you submit or not, this land will be Shaped as he desires. So let your leaders come forth and speak for this land, if He believes you speak well, he may offer some mercy on those who live here. However if He believes you speak with ill intent, then the full power of the Hammer of Shaping will fall here!" As the last echoes bouncing of the broken structures beyond the beach died down, one of the armoured ones stepped forward. And when he spoke it was in such a way that the words from his mouth sounded twisted and deformed. "I have one question that strikes me from what you have said: Is this Shaper a man or an idea? If he is a man I would very much like to have words with him."

Tomasz moved closer to him, about to warn about the way he spoke of the Shaper. But he never got the chance, as that was when He stepped forward sending shivers down Natalya's spine. He drew back the hood of his cloak, revealing pale gold shoulder length hair and bright grey eyes, all placed within a hard and sharp face. Immediately all of the Forerunners, baring Natalya, went to their knees, prostrating themselves before Him. When he spoke it was like Lighting on a hot summer's night, like the Eagle's call soaring over mountains. It was the sound of the Pale Horse riding.

* * *

Chapter 3 will be up within a day or two.  
Thanks to generallegend for that review, it's nice to think someone is appreciating this :)  
So please, if you like the story or think that i'm really crap at this please leave a message or a review, it sends a buzz of excitement through me, even if it's a hate message it makes me feel loved.  
P.S Im not sure if it is apparent yet but this story is just using the fallout setting and many of the Characters so thanks to Interplay, Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda for making such a great world for me to play around with :D


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